POTISKUM, Nigeria – The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has officially commissioned a series of multi-sectoral community development projects across Potiskum Local Government Area in Yobe State, inaugurating newly renovated school classroom blocks, science laboratories, and solar-powered potable water installations, military authorities announced on Sunday, September 6, 2026.
The grassroots civil-military interventions were executed under the Chief of the Air Staff’s Special Intervention Projects initiative in honour of Air Vice Marshal Idi Sani, designed to address essential human needs in communities situated within frontline operational theatres across North East Nigeria.
Okay News reports that the educational component of the project included the comprehensive reconstruction and furnishing of three blocks containing six classrooms and three staff offices at Sabon Gari Primary School in Potiskum.
At the Transit Secondary School site, the Air Force completed the rehabilitation of two large blocks comprising four modern classrooms, an integrated multipurpose science laboratory, a dedicated students’ dining kitchen, and three administrative staff rooms to improve secondary educational outcomes for hundreds of pupils.
To eliminate chronic water scarcity and improve public sanitation, four new solar-powered borehole water facilities were constructed and handed over to host communities in Nahuta, Yindiski Gakoko, Gabar da Kasuwa, and Maina Kaina, while a municipal borehole facility situated behind the New Modern Market in Potiskum was completely rehabilitated and equipped with modern water-fetching points.
Speaking during the formal handover ceremony in Potiskum, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, represented by the Air Officer Commanding Special Operations Command, Air Vice Marshal Ahmad Idris, affirmed that the military high command considers community welfare central to its primary defense mandate.
Air Marshal Aneke explained that the civil-military interventions constitute vital non-kinetic operations engineered to cement mutual trust, bridge communal divides, and foster organic collaboration with citizens who live in strategic operational sectors.
He noted that while the air service remains constitutionally bound to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the federation from asymmetric security threats, delivering clean drinking water and educational infrastructure directly addresses the root vulnerabilities of conflict-affected populations while creating the social confidence required for sustainable security operations.
Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni, who served as Special Guest of Honour at the commissioning ceremony and was represented by the State Commissioner of Wealth Creation, Empowerment and Employment Generation, Aji Yareemah Bularafa, commended the NAF leadership for combining armed security deterrence with meaningful social development.
Governor Buni described the intervention as a model template for effective civil-military collaboration, charging community elders, traditional leaders, and youth groups across Potiskum to establish robust maintenance mechanisms to safeguard the facilities against vandalism and protect public property.
Formally transferring custody of the completed infrastructure to community representatives, Air Vice Marshal Idi Sani expressed appreciation to the Chief of the Air Staff for institutional financing and logistical backing, noting that sustaining the infrastructure in good working condition will ensure that thousands of school pupils and residents benefit from clean water and qualitative learning environments for generations to come.
